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The Fraud Bulletin APRIL 2025

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WHAT ARE YOUR CHILDREN DOING ONLINE?

The Easter School holidays are just around the corner and children will have more spare time on their hands.
What’s almost certain is that during the school holidays, they’ll be going online much more than in term time … for entertainment, keeping in contact and chatting with their mates, gaming, and the multitude of other things kids use the Internet for.

With all the additional time spent doing more online, how can you be sure that the young people in your family are safe from the issues they can encounter every day?
The Internet lets children connect with friends and learn new things. But there are also dangers to going online, and children can be particularly vulnerable.
Talking to your children is one of the best ways to keep them safe online. By understanding the risks, and keeping yourself up to date on the latest technology, websites and social networks you can help your child enjoy the Internet safely and securely.
To help protect your children online:
• keep computers, phones and games consoles in family rooms where you can monitor activity
• install parental control software or activate parental controls through your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to prevent access to inappropriate content
• ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ your child on social networks, so you can see how they’re using them
• check age restrictions for websites or social networks to make sure your children are allowed to join
• advise your child not to post personal information, or any images they wouldn’t want everyone to see
• check their social media accounts’ privacy settings, so their posts are only seen by friends and their location isn’t tracked
• avoid using webcams, unless talking to close friends or family, and consider covering it when not in use
• monitor how your children use the Internet and watch for any secretive behaviour
• encourage your child to be open about what they do online, and who they’re talking to
• insist you go with them if they wish to meet online friends face to face
• ensure the games your children play online are age appropriate
SOURCE: METROPOLITAN POLICE
Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours

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NOTICE OF ELECTION

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Worcestershire County Council
Election of Councillors

Thank you to Honeybourne Litter Heroes

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Despite yesterday’s rain, PROW group members, residents, and Councillors braved the weather to pick up litter around the village. This marks the 4th year Honeybourne Parish Council has partnered with the Great British Spring Clean Campaign.

Their efforts contribute to a clean, healthy environment, rich in wildlife and appreciated by residents.

Aunty Jen’s Presents – Lady Windermere’s Fan – By Oscar Wilde

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Venue:  Honeybourne Village Hall

Date :  8th June 2025

Time: 2:30 pm

Tickets : £12.00 adults and concessions £10.00

www.auntyjensproduction.co.uk

Tel: 07904872990

Charity Car Wash – Support your Local Firefighters

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Location : Honeybourne Village Hall

Date: Saturday, 5th April 2025

Time: 12 pm – 3 pm

In aid of : The Firefighters Charity

Plus: Refreshments and Meet the Crew.

Proud To Be A Partner of The Great British Spring Clean

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Honeybourne Parish Council has signed up to the Great British Spring Clean.
Please come and join members of the PROW Working Party to help keep the Village litter free
Date : Sunday 23rd March 2025
Time : 9:30 am – 12:30 pm.
Meeting place: Honeybourne Village Hall Car Park
This year, the campaign returns from
21st March to 6th April

Honeybourne Village Hall Presents A Wine and Cheese Night

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Join us for a spectacular wine and cheese tasting experience  presented by Waitrose wine specialist John Williams at Honeybourne Village Hall on 26th April, starting at 7:30 pm.

Tickets £20.00 per person can be purchased online at; www.honeybournevillagehall.org

For information phone : 01386 833600

 

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West Mercia – The Fraud Bulletin MARCH 2025

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ARE YOUR CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE?

Whilst the world of the Internet offers great opportunities for young and old alike, it also presents many risks. The use of the Internet by children has increased greatly in the last 2 years for social, entertainment and educational reasons.

So, with extra time being spent online, how can you protect the younger family members from the potential issues they may face, and make them aware?

First of all, make sure all the safety settings are set up and in place including:

  • Parental controls on all devices, browsers, and Apps to filter out inappropriate material.
  • Set strong privacy settings to make sure personal information is only visible to trusted individuals i.e. “Friends only”.
  • Make use of Safe search filters such as Google SafeSearch to block out harmful content
  • Set daily usage time limits for Apps and overall daily screen time.
  • Explain and encourage safe searching, websites, and apps. Check what they are watching and sharing on streaming sites such as YouTube and TikTok

Always remember that anything you share online, such as images, videos and comments may hang around for much longer than you think.

You could also consider some of the following ideas to protect your children further:

  • Know about the online risks such as grooming, bullying and sexting (never share inappropriate images you would not want your family and friends to see)
  • Make sure your child understands what personal information they should never share including location, passwords. Phone numbers, schools, date of birth.
  • Set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on accounts for a second layer of protection.
  • Make them aware that most apps may collect data even when privacy settings are in place.

Not everything online will be true so teach them how to spot misinformation, fake profiles and most important of all – never be rushed into making any decisions.

If there is anything you are not sure about, never cover it up, but do talk to an adult, or a trusted friend or relative.

Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours

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If you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via actionfraud.police.uk.

Scam Text messages can be forwarded to 7726 to help phone providers take early action and block numbers that generate spam on their networks. Scam mobile calls can also be forwarded to 7726, followed by the word “CALL”, then the scam phone number

Forward Fake Emails received to report@phishing.gov.uk

For further information visit:

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/    https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/

New orchard planted in Honeybourne Allotments – A Fruitful Partnership!

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Thank you to all the allotment holders and residents who helped plant 15 fruit trees at Honeybourne Allotments on Saturday 1st February. The trees, a mix of local apple and plum varieties, were provided by the Coronation Living Heritage Fund through Worcestershire County Council Countryside Service.

The trees are to be maintained by the plot holders. The fruit produced in the orchard will be a valuable source of locally grown produce for the community.  These trees will supply shade and habitat for animals, store carbon dioxide, improve air quality, and contribute to climate change mitigation.

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The Fraud and Scam Bulletin – February

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Romance Fraud

An increasing number of people are falling victim to romance fraud, which do not only cause financial harm, but also can inflict emotional and mental damage to those victims.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, romance may be high on many people’s agenda as they seek an appropriate way to celebrate the day. However, at the same time criminals are using this as an opportunity to devise new scams to defraud their victims on dating Sites and social media.

At this time of the year there is a rise in Romance Frauds as the fraudsters draw their victims into false relationship, gain their confidence, before the requests for money start to come in. These are accompanied by heart rending pleas about personal, or family problems, and emergencies which need finance.

Are any platforms safe?

Fraudsters continue to target users of popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as dating sites such as Tinder and Plenty of Fish, and many others.

Messaging sites such as Google Hangouts and WhatsApp may also be used to find unsuspecting victims.

As well as conventional dating platforms, online Gaming platforms may be used to seek potential victims since there are fewer protective measures in place.

Who are their targets?

Females over 40 years are common victims as well as younger males, but users also need to be aware on age related dating platforms too.

How does it work?

Basically, criminals will go to great lengths to gain the victim’s trust by claiming they are in a genuine relationship which is built up over time

  • They will manipulate and exploit the victim to the extent they are persuaded they are in a real and genuine relationship
  • They create convincing persona such as military personnel, medical staff, engineers and many others to convince the victim they are genuine
  • Then, when they ask for money, the victim is convinced there is no problem with the request
  • The requests can be very emotive citing reasons such as medical emergencies, travel costs, payment of fines or taxes, or even claiming their bank account has been frozen

Tell-tale signs a friend or family member is involved in a Romance Scam

  • They may be very secretive about their relationship or provide excuses for why their online partner has not video called or met them in person.
  • They may be unwilling to discuss their online relationship
  • They may express very strong emotions and commitment to someone they have only just met
  • They have sent, or are planning to send, money to someone they have not met face-to-face. They may take out loans or withdraw from their pension to send money.

Stay safe

  • Never send money to someone you have never met in person
  • Never part with your bank or personal details to strangers online however genuine they claim to be
  • The fact that they may request payment to another named bank account, not their own, can be another tell-tale sign of a fraudster
  • Always seek advice from somebody trusted before parting with any money in any format, whether it is bank transfers, PayPal, Gift Cards or bitcoin currencies.
  • Profile photos are very often fake, you can research any image by doing a “Reverse Image” search to find photos that have been copied from elsewhere.
  • Never share images of yourself that you would not want your own family and friends to see

 

SAFER INTERNET DAY 2025

SAFER INTERNET DAY 2025 takes place 0n 11th February 2025 based on the theme of

“Too good to be True? Protecting yourself and others online”

Each year the event covers an online issue/theme relevant to the things younger people see and experience online. Topics covered include:

  • The impact of AI and its use by fraudsters
  • What role can government and the Internet industry take to tackle this?
  • What changes do young people, want to see to help protect them?

A full set of resources are available online for schools and other organisations covering all young age groups – https://saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2025

Please feel free to share these messages with any vulnerable friends, relatives or neighbours